Koh Lipe, Thailand
Sat 25th Apr.
Of course I was awake well before the alarm, but I still had all my packing to do. I left a couple of shirts with Kev…so saving a bit of weight. I went to reception after 08:30. Before 09:00 Addy drove me to Telaga Harbour to catch the ferry to Koh Lipe.
There was quite a bit of processing to do. Hand over passport. Name called after 30 mins. The booking receipt I got from Rainbow was exchanged for a booking voucher. Went with passport to another counter and got a boarding pass. Then security…look into the camera and finger prints taken. Final check before boarding when they keep the passport for the duration of the journey.
We waited whilst a Govt minister was given special attention. We boarded. We left about 15 minutes early. Unfortunately after about 20 minutes a couple of alarms went off to indicate an engine malfunction. We slowed down, turned around and went back to the harbour.
I bought some water and munchies from the petrol station next door. After 45 minutes a replacement ferry arrived. Our luggage was moved across and in the end we only lost 2 hours. Although there’s an hour difference between Thailand and Malaysia, the crossing to Koh Lipe itself was only an hour and a half.
The landing/arrival was a bit complicated, but totally different to anything I’ve encountered before. We were taken off the ferry and into boats that carried about 30 people and taken to shore. We stepped onto a floating gangway that rocked and didn’t fell too sturdy.
Immigration was a building on the beach. We waited about 30 minutes ( chairs were provided ), and gradually people’s names were called out by an official holding all the passengers’ passports. You were asked if you’d completed your TDAC. Then you joined a queue and went up some steps to the Immigration counter. Eye and finger print recognition , and passport got stamped. In the meantime the luggage was on a plastic mat on the beach. The process seemed to work, but it took about 45 minutes.
Not far from immigration is the start of Walking street…the main/high street I suppose. So interesting…quite narrow, so it’s crammed with shops and restaurants and ‘tour’ agencies. I walked and walked, looking for accommodation. Either places were full or too expensive; I didn’t want a dorm room.
I got very sweaty, before ending up back on Walking street. I ended up at Sang Chan, which although it said ‘hostel’ on the map, it did have private rooms. I joked around with Nui on reception and took a room for 900Baht…or 21Gbp. Fan only…extra for a/c…and no view out of the window. Fine for 3 nights.
I decided to see a bit more of the beach where we landed. Very nice with some interesting ‘decorations’. Oh, I found at Sang Chan that I’d lost my ferry booking confirmation paper. I retraced my steps…not far…and the lady at A Plus immediately went to the back of the restaurant and retrieved my form. Mild panic as I thought I might have to buy a new return ticket.
Phew…I told Nui how relieved I was. For something to do he suggested I go to Sunset beach. It’s only about a 25 minute walk, but as it was my first time I was stopping to look at things along the way and take photos.
A lovely beach with a bar where you could enjoy a sunset. Not much of a sunset as the clouds came over. I left before I could get too disappointed, but the combination of beach and bay and trees was very special.
I had a little snack before going back to my room. No, first I had one beer at Rainforest bar and felt quite tired after that.
Sun 26th Apr
Although the mattress was a little bit lumpy, I had a good sleep. My shirt had dried overnight. I went downstairs for a couple of coffees. I joined in a conversation with a Swedish lady and an Estonian guy.
I picked up on a rice porridge breakfast from the Estonian. I walked towards Sunrise beach and on the way found a place offering the rice porridge. It wasn’t as thick as the name implied, but very tasty. It was more of a soup teally, but included chicken as well.
I reached the beach…some very, very smart hotels. The beach was stunning. I walked around a bit and lay in the sun for a while. Lots of boats moored all the way along. Very pretty, very relaxing. Oh, and I had couple of dips in the ocean; lovely warm and clear water.
I went back to my room to wash the salt off my body. I had 3 things to do downstairs…have a coffee, pay Nui for my last day, complete my MDAC. I only succeeded with the first. For some reason my room payment wouldn’t go through, despite multiple attempts. I could complete the MDAC application using different websites but they all required payment of around 50Usd, and I knew that was wrong as the application is Free.
I was getting very frustrated over a period of an hour and a half. I apologised to Nui and headed to immigration at the beach to ask if there was another way. The immigration guy confirmed that the MDAC is free through a proper Govt website, and that the others were ‘scam’ sites. He said he would help me with a wifi code to use the QR code reader next time. Very helpful.
I walked in the other direction of the beach to the rocks at the end. Lovely white sand. Another immigration counter. A restaurant. A resort. It was gone 4pm and the sun was very bright/glary, so I walked back to Walking street.
I headed towards the Elephant because I’d noticed their happy hour chang was only 80Thb; I needed to destress. There was a sign saying 6pm opening, but as I was only having a beer, I could go in. I asked about wifi, and mentioned my irritation at the websites wanting payment. The bar gave me their VPN code.
Guess what, I did the application in about 5 minutes and it didn’t cost anything. What relief…end of the stress. I was so happy that I had another beer…!!
A few meters up the road I had fried chicken thing with coconut rice, topped off with a fried egg. Some confusion with waitress over the price. She kept saying, 170. I said no, 120. I insisted on showing her the menu; she agreed with me the 120Bth, but it was her pronunciation that caused the confusion. We laughed.
Virtually across the street was the Rainforest bar where I had a couple of beers; I couldn’t be bothered to wait for the DJ at 8pm. I’d spoken to Loretta earlier, then I spoke to Phil.
So, the end of an eventful day. I just had the room payment issue to resolve.
Mon 27th Apr
I woke up and packed. Nui had asked if I could switch rooms because another guest preferred an a/c room; I obliged as a fan was perfect for me. The card machine still wasn’t working so I went to a currency exchange and bought 1,000Bth with 133RM; an extra 20+Gbp would get me through my last day. Back at Sang Chan I paid the 900Bth for my last night.
I could move into my new room almost right away so I transferred my backpack and settled in. I preferred the new room…it had a double bed and a window with a view of the stairs opposite leading into the building opposite.
I had a few coffees downstairs and headed to the beach. Along the way I stopped for a rice porridge again..really delicious; I experimented with a few different condiments this time.
What a gorgeous beach. Palm trees, fancy hotels, a few islands offshore. I walked to one end then back to a more central part. If it wasn’t high tide, it was pretty close. The water is amazing…green and crystal clear. I swam twice…or was it 3 times…very unusual for me. But I’ve never enjoyed swimming in the sea as much as here in Thailand.
Eventually I walked backed into town. And in keeping with wanting to try new things, I stopped at a restaurant on Walking street for a fresh coconut drink…it cost 50Bth…just over 1Gbp. Back to my room to shower and chill.
Then it was over to Sunset beach. Along the way I got a chunk of chicken for 50Bth to snack on. It was delicious but I was plagued by mosquitoes. At Sunset I had a beer and then went down the beach where the same beer was half the price. The venue was much more pleasant and comfortable …and of course much cheaper. I had a couple of Changs, saw most of the sunset and headed back into town.
I found a place to have fried squid and rice. Not the best choice…very salty, not much flavour…but it filled my stomach. I went from there to Rainforest to take in the nightlife. The music was loud and a bit repetitive, but I guess that’s the ‘scene’.
I bought a couple of changs to take back to Sang Chan, which I consumed in the reception area. Oh I forgot…I did a FB post on my Thai 3 day adventure. I had my beers and went up to my room just after 10pm.